Elizabeth (and of course her parents!) commissioned David Rivinus, the innovative and extraordinary modern viola maker to make this beautiful Pellegrina for her. Elizabeth stands at 5'. This instrument is opening a new world of viola repertoire to her, where the ratio of instrument size : body size once made it prohibitive.
David Rivinis writes, " A frequent cause of injury to... violists is something called supination. From the player's perspective supining is the need to stretch the left elbow as far as possible toward the middle of the body. This action causes muscle spasms in the neck and left shoulder, it pinches nerves up and down the arm and in the elbow, and it results in a posture that stresses the tendons in the left forearm and hand, often causing them to swell. The most important innovation incorporated into... (the Pellegrina) is the one that allows the player to supine about five degrees less than on traditional instruments... It is accomplished by simply tilting or banking the fingerboard so that the lowest string is put within the player's comfortable reach". The asymmetrical design is "the key to solving, acoustically and ergonomically, many of the problems that have plagued string players--especially violists--for centuries". Rivinus goes on to teach players that a traditionally designed large instrument only causes large physical ailments, and that a large sonority does not need to come from a conventionally shaped instrument; it can be found "by stretching" the instrument in areas that won't interfere with the mechanics of playing. This new shape allows the player to produce an "expansive tenor sound which is generated by [the] unusually large body [of the Pellegrina]... yet to the player, it feels like an undersized viola. It's unconventional shape allows for unprecedented ease of shifting into the upper positions". Other innovations include a lighter overall weight, extra sound holes, and a different bridge design.
